Optical character recognition (OCR) is a process by which printed or written text such as in books, magazines, newspapers, catalogues or mail is converted directly into speech, braille or digitised information.
The printed document needs to be scanned, with the type of scanner being dependent on both the OCR system used and the types of and quantity of information being scanned. The scanned text is then converted by the OCR software which includes spell checking and formatting.
OCR systems can either plug into a standard computer or operate as a specific OCR standalone system, with the standalone systems generally being more expensive. OCR cannot recognise handwriting or pictures and may also have difficulty with newspapers, photos, maps, multi-coloured or poor quality documents. It is best to therefore trial a system based on the type of data to be scanned. Demonstration versions of OCR software can be downloaded from the internet.
An alternative, often cheaper method of scanning documents can be done through a standard Windows operating system and scanner, using adaptive technology to access scanned data.
Workplace solutions and adjustments
In the workplace, adaptive technology such as screen reading software, screen magnification software or braille output systems can be used to make it possible for a person with a vision impairment to access printed text material. More information on adaptive technology can be found at the links below:
References
AFB 2011, Optical Character Recognition Systems, American Foundation for the Blind, New York, viewed 8 August 2011, http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=4&TopicID=31&DocumentID=1283.
Vision Australia 2009, Print Scanners, Vision Australia, Enfield, viewed 8 August 2011, http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=1238.